


the reason i like you

by text



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Children, Daycare, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-19 17:46:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17606012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/text/pseuds/text
Summary: Hongjoong is good with children and Yunho, well, isn’t.





	the reason i like you

**Author's Note:**

> title from millions by winner
> 
> sorry for any errors!

Hongjoong is going to the daycare today.

Yunho usually doesn’t have any problem with it. He admires Hongjoong for it, actually, because Hongjoong reserves a few hours out of his insanely busy week to help out of his own volition, without receiving any monetary gain. Because he actually seems to enjoy it. Because he’s good at it.

He’s taking Yunho with him this time, and that’s where his problem lies.

Because Hongjoong is good with children and Yunho, well, isn’t.

The first and perhaps the last time Yunho’s ever held a baby was in the middle of grade school, when he had just started to participate in some extracurricular sports and was beginning to outgrow some of the old clothes he had in past years.

He had some relatives visit his house for a family gathering and was awkwardly sitting on the couch, pressing his legs together as if he was trying to take up the least amount of room possible, staring at the baby that was in his aunt’s arms. The infant stared back at Yunho with a blank expression, a little line of drool dribbling out of the corner of his mouth.

Yunho’s aunt noticed his staring and smiled down at her son. She looked back up at Yunho. “Would you like to hold him?”

Yunho nodded hesitantly. He held his arms straight out in front of himself with his open palms to the ceiling and braced himself for the weight of the baby.

It was obvious that he had no idea what he was doing. His aunt just chuckled at him and adjusted his arms to the correct position. Yunho remained still and looked down at the empty space between his arms and chest as his aunt maneuvered the infant into his arms.

“Be sure to support the head,” she guided gently. The baby had a huge head. Yunho needed to splay out all of his fingers in order to prevent it from lolling back.

Yunho held his breath because, wow, he was actually holding a piece of life. Right there, in his arms. The infant’s body was also much heavier than Yunho had initially thought. He felt like his puny arms could give in at just about any moment. Yunho wondered if he was this heavy when he was first born. He suddenly admired his aunt for her strength, as well as his mother.

Yunho stared down at the baby, who was staring back up at him, looking at Yunho like he was some kind of alien, eyes wide. They shared a quiet moment.

A calm moment.

A peaceful moment, until the baby frowned, wrinkling his face up, contorting it into an ugly shape that reminded Yunho of a deflated basketball, before proceeding to wail loudly. Yunho flinched and his heart lurched from shock, eyes darting up to gauge his aunt’s reaction. His aunt only clicked her tongue (Yunho’s not quite sure it was directed at him or the baby’s fussiness, but he couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault either way) and hastily retrieved her child from Yunho’s arms.

Traumatized from that incident, Yunho hasn’t held a baby since.

Even when his little brother was born, Yunho refused to hold him until he at least learned how to walk.

And even then, his little brother didn’t cry, but tried to claw his face off (or even worse, bite him) whenever Yunho made an attempt to hold or play with him.

Yunho figured that he must have a curse that makes kids not like him. He’s pretty sure he’s still carrying it now, amidst his studies in university with a boyfriend who’s too much of a good samaritan for Yunho’s own good.

So Yunho can’t go with Hongjoong. Because he’s cursed.

“You don’t want me to go with you,” Yunho tries protesting, and says very seriously, “I make babies cry.”

Hongjoong just giggles at him as if Yunho just told him that honeybees know how to dance. “It’s a daycare, not a nursery.”

“I have no idea what the difference between those two are,” Yunho admits. He hopes that his lack of knowledge will make Hongjoong reconsider his involvement. To Yunho’s demise, it only seems to further encourage him.

A pleased smile spreads across Hongjoong’s face. “Good! You’ll be able to learn if you come with me.”

It’s almost impossible to sway Hongjoong once he’s made his mind, unless if Yunho has a convincing enough reason.

Hongjoong’s already  _ laughed _ at Yunho’s one and only reason, so Yunho gives up the fight and lets himself be dragged along despite his clear discontentment.

“But just a general rule, daycares usually have kids, not babies, who are usually in nurseries. So expect them to be able to walk and talk but needing a bit of help since their motor skills are still developing,” Hongjoong adds.

Oh, great, Yunho thinks, his soul collapsing on the inside, because this time, the children will be capable of letting Yunho know that they hate him with their words.

 

The building is much larger than Yunho had expected.

There is not a dull hallway in sight. The walls are lined with bulletin boards tacked with colorful posters and various drawings. Yunho almost gets dizzy from looking around trying to catch a glimpse of everything.

Hongjoong’s hand is warm as it’s pressed against Yunho’s palm, their fingers clasped together. Yunho quietly enjoys the comfort his warmth brings as they walk.

Yunho’s pretty sure Hongjoong has memorized the entire floor plan at this point. They reach the designated room in no time.

Hongjoong’s hand is on the doorknob when he asks, “Ready?”

“No,” Yunho deadpans.

“They like everyone who comes in, seriously!”

“They haven’t met me,” Yunho says solemnly.

Hongjoong doesn’t say anything, just rolls his eyes, and opens the door to reveal a very bright but very empty room.

“They’ll be coming soon,” Hongjoong says, sparing a glance at the wall clock. “We need to get ready.”

Getting ready consists of unstacking the chairs, thoroughly wiping down the tables and countertops, arranging and rearranging the books on the bookshelf, and sweeping away any dust or dirt that had somehow collected from outside.

Hongjoong has already had his morning cup of coffee so he keeps his composure and looks fine but Yunho hates the taste of coffee so on every level and plane of existence, he’s spent.

The children arrive not too long after they finish. Hongjoong greets them at the door with a friendly grin while Yunho watches from afar.

Eventually, Hongjoong calls him over to greet the kids as well. Yunho ends up standing stiffly at the other side of the doorway as the children proceed to ignore him and only acknowledge Hongjoong. Yunho thinks that some of them may even be scared of him based on how they look up at him and then immediately back down once Yunho catches their eye.

“That should be it,” Hongjoong says, and closes the door. There’s no more than fifteen children that have arrived, which may seem like a small number, but it’s overwhelming all the same. “Are you alright?”

“They’re afraid of me,” Yunho points out.

Hongjoong frowns. “No, they aren’t. Look. Hi, everyone!” Hongjoong chirps, quickly catching the children’s attention. He smiles and gestures to Yunho. “This is Yunho. Let’s be nice to him, okay?”

“Okay,” they echo back.

“They’ll be nice,” Hongjoong reiterates.

One of the first things on the assigned schedule that Hongjoong has seemed to memorize is Circle Time. The kids, Hongjoong, and Yunho all sit on the rug placed in the corner of the room, forming a shape that somewhat resembles a circle but not quite. Yunho doesn’t really remember the last time he’s sat this way, on the floor with his legs folded like a triangle. He feels like an oversized kid.

“So, who wants to speak first?” Hongjoong asks. A little girl raises her hand first. “Yes, Mina?”

“Who is Mister Yunho and why is he here?”

“He can answer that for you,” Hongjoong prompts, directing his gaze across the faux-circle, at Yunho. There’s a short silence until Yunho realizes that everyone’s attention is on him now.

“Oh,” he says. “I’m Yunho. I’m twenty years old, a little younger than uh, Mister Hongjoong. I’m here because... I really want to help out,” he finishes lamely.

Another round of silence.

A boy shoots his hand up. “Jiwon?”

“How tall are you?” he asks, tilting his head at Yunho.

“Um,” Yunho bites the inside of his cheek. “184 centimeters?”

Jiwon’s mouth falls open, making an ‘o’ shape. “Wow,” he says. “Not even my dad is that tall.”

A laugh bubbles at the back of Yunho’s throat at that. He quickly covers his mouth with his own hand because what the heck, he didn’t expect these kids to actually be  _ funny_.

A good portion of the morning is spent playing. Children, Yunho learns, have a ridiculous abundance of pent up energy. Before he knows it, Yunho suddenly becomes their makeshift jungle gym.

“Hey, you guys agreed to be nice,” Hongjoong reminds them as he’s watching over the children who prefer to do quieter, more independent activities like draw or read. He paces across the room to where Yunho’s being trampled. “Let Mister Yunho breathe, okay?”

The young boys giggle at each other but disperse, leaving Yunho to lay on the ground by himself. Hongjoong hovers over him, waving a hand in front of his face.

“Get up, Mister Yunho,” Hongjoong teases.

“I can’t feel anything,” Yunho groans, accepting Hongjoong’s hand as he pulls him up to his feet.

“You shouldn’t be letting them step all over you,” Hongjoong grins, holding Yunho’s swaying body still as he tries fixing his hair.

“I didn’t let them, they just did it,” he defends, still rather breathless. He lets out a defeated sigh, feeling himself relax beneath Hongjoong’s touch.

Yunho feels accomplished once lunchtime rolls around. It’s already more than half a day’s work and some of the kids have started to develop a liking to him.

He takes a seat in one of the kid-sized chairs at one of the kid-sized tables and it’s a poorly made decision because his knees almost come up to his chest because the chair is so small.

Hongjoong looks at him funny as he passes by.

“There’s a chair and table right here, too, you know,” he points out.

“I think I’m quite fine here, actually,” and if Hongjoong ignores the tightness in his voice, he may have just believed it. Some of the kids snicker at him and Yunho kind of does a winning dance in his head.

Even though there’s only fifteen of them, they’re still rather messy. Hongjoong and Yunho wipe down the tables after everyone’s finished eating.

“Now what?” Yunho asks.

Hongjoong turns off the light. “It’s naptime,” he announces. He turns to Yunho. “Help me tuck some of them in.”

Most of the kids were rather compliant with the idea of being tucked in. Yunho is just about to pull a blanket over one of them when she says, “I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Does Mister Yunho have a crush on anyone?”

“Do I have a crush?” Yunho repeats, and the little girl nods. He spares a glance over his shoulder, to where Hongjoong is tending to another young child, sees the slight smirk on his face as he listens in. “Actually, I do.”

“What’s her name?” she asks.

“His name—” Yunho looks at the little girl’s face in apprehension but she seemed unfazed. He smiles. “I can’t really say. I think it’ll embarrass him... but it starts with an ‘H’.”

“And what do you like about ‘H’?”

It doesn’t take much time for Yunho to think about it. “Well, for starters, ‘H’ is very hardworking and ambitious. I cherish him a lot, but I don’t really think I show it as much as I want to. He has the prettiest laugh, and the most infectious smile. And he is incredibly kind.”

The girl’s eyes go wide in awe. “You sound like you’re really in love,” she says in a small voice.

“Yeah,” Yunho nods, chuckling. “I guess I am.”

The little girl falls asleep quickly after that. Hongjoong and Yunho leave the room. A staff member of the daycare would be taking over the shift after naptime.

Hongjoong is smiling the entire time they make their way to the parking lot.

“I have a crush, too,” Hongjoong says.

“Oh, really? Who is it?”

“Can’t say. I might embarrass him. But it starts with a ‘Y’.”

“And why do you like this ‘Y’?”

“Well, I don’t just like him, I’m in love with him,” Hongjoong clarifies. “But I really adore his ability to make others laugh, no matter what. He is understanding, and a good listener. He gives the best hugs. I think it’s really cute how he scrunches his nose up when he gets embarrassed. And I think that it’s very obvious that he loves me, too.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I love you,” Hongjoong presses a kiss against his mouth. Yunho tries very hard not to let his face heat up but his failure is evident based on the way Hongjoong smiles knowingly against him. “Thanks for coming with me. It wasn’t too terrible, right?”

Yunho can easily sense the start of his own muscles screaming at him out of soreness, but he shakes his head. He can deal with the pain when he gets home.

“No, not really,” he agrees. “It wasn’t bad at all.”


End file.
